On The Other Side
by WhenBirdsFly
Summary: Afterlife AU. Implied Sterek
1. The Meeting

**A/N:** I wrote this really quickly from an idea I had in the shower. It's unedited so please let me know if you see any mistakes. This is probably going to be a prequel to another story, which is why it's so short and kind of disjointed. Please let me know what you think x

* * *

"_DEREK!" a horrified voice screaming was barely heard over the loud buzzing in Derek's ears, rapidly growing louder._

* * *

Derek opened his eyes, only to be blinded by the bright light surrounding him. The last thing he remembered was the glowing red eyes of an enemy alpha.

He opened his eyes again and looked around, giving them time to adjust. All around him were people, standing in a park. Derek could see large buildings in the distance, expanding all the way out to the horizon. If he didn't know any better, Derek would believe that he was on earth, but everything felt wrong; too soft, too calm. The people didn't appear to be disturbed by him, acting as if it was normal for a man to just to appear in the grass near them.

Slowly Derek stood up, observing the people close to him. This was when he noticed a lady not too far away walking towards him, a concerned look on her face. She looked familiar, which was confusing as he had never met this woman before.

"Hello sweetheart, do you need some help?" she asked him in a soft voice, guiding him over to a bench to sit on.

"Is this heaven or something?" Derek responded, still watching the people.

The lady laughed "Something like that, do you know how you got here?" The question sounded genuine, not like she was just asking to make conversation.

Derek looked at her briefly, before sighing. He felt like he could trust this woman. "I was in a fight, we were outnumbered. I had to save them, I had to save…" Derek looked down at his hand, playing with his wedding ring. The lady took his hand, giving him a sympathetic look.

They sat there for a moment, giving Derek time to think. "How do I find people here? How do I find my family?" Derek asked the lady.

"Well, you can go to the Archives, they can help you find your family. However, most people tend to look around themselves as it's generally easier and faster."

Derek was already up and started walking "Can you take me to the Archives?"

She nodded and led the way, matching her strides to Derek.

* * *

On the way to the Archives, the woman made idle chat, not caring that Derek was responding with limited answers; his mind more focused on finding his family.

"You're just like my husband, very determined." She said with a laugh.

"You're just like my husband," he responded "you're very energetic" he said with a sad smile.

"Don't worry you'll see him again darling, but until then, you can find your family" she said, pointing to the building in front of them.

As Derek moved towards the building he turned to the lady. "Thank you for your help" he said, looking into the woman's familiar whiskey coloured eyes before turning and walking into the building before stopping and turning around. He knew those eyes, he'd gotten used to waking up to them. "What's your name?" He called out from the doorway.

"Claudia Stilinski" she said as the door closed on Derek.


	2. The Family

Derek wandered the street looking for the correct building. The information he had found in the Archives had lead him here, searching in what felt like an endless abyss of identical tall, grey buildings for the one that would finally reunite him with his family.

As he searched, he thought back to the lady he had met earlier. How had he not recognised her from the pictures Stiles' kept in their house, pictures that he had seen for years? He had tried to find her again once he had exited the Archives, but the world around him had changed and the park where he met her was gone, the Archives building having spit him out into a different part of the world, conveniently closer to his family.

That was how he found himself here, walking up the steps to knock on the door of the building that according to the paper in his hand, held the people that had been taken from him too early.

Derek knocked on the door, waiting with baited breath for it to open. As he stood, he could hear no sound coming from inside the building, maybe he had the wrong house, maybe he would never find his family. Before he could fall further into his state of panic the door opened and in a rush he could hear everything happening in the building, as he stared into the face of his mother who immediately pulled him into the hallway inside.

"Oh Derek, what are you doing here? It's too early." she whispered into his shoulder pulling him into a tight embrace.

"Mum" he croaked out, voice overcome with the sudden rush of emotions he was feeling from being able to be with her again, trying to pull her even closer than she already was.

They were distracted by a small noise, both looking up to see Laura standing in the archway at the end of the hallway, staring at Derek in disbelief. Talia let go of Derek and nudged him towards Laura, who appeared to be frozen. Derek rushed forward and held Laura tightly as she came back to reality and held him tight, like she never wanted to let him go again.

Talia laughed after a minute or two and ushered them both into the kitchen at the end of the hallway, where Derek's father was waiting as well as many other members of his family. After many heartfelt reunions, all with Laura hardly leaving Derek's side, his family finally sat down and looked at him expectantly, waiting for explanation.

"Tell us everything" Laura requested, poking him in the ribs urgently, "we can't see what's happening in the living world, how have you been doing?"

"I found Cora" he said into the silence, wanting to reassure them that his youngest sister was safe. Laura squeezed his hand in comfort before he started talking again.

"She lives in South America, but she comes and stays every year from Thanksgiving 'till New Year and we talk… talked on the phone every week." Someone would have to tell her he was dead, that she'd never see him again; that the last of her family besides Peter was gone. He wonders if she will still visit, if she will still come and stay with Stiles in their house that will now feel too big. Before he can let himself think about it further he continues.

He starts from when Laura was killed, retelling his life to his family in bits and pieces, leaving out the more tragic parts and how broken he once was. They ask questions about his pack, why isn't he the Alpha, what his Alpha is like. His mother is impressed when he mentions that Scott is a true Alpha, stating how rare and powerful they are. Derek stays vague with most things, he talks about how his pack are his friends but doesn't really go into detail about them, he knows his death is too fresh in his mind and he can't speak about them yet.

Derek tells them all how he made a better life for himself, rebuilt the old Hale home, got a job at the police station, helped his pack to defend Beacon Hills from whatever new creature decided to turn up that month. He was deliberately avoiding the topic of his relationship, hoping that no one had picked up on the wedding ring on his finger. He thought he had gotten away with it when the discussion had come to an end and they were moving into the lounge room, directing the conversation toward his family and what they had been doing. That is until Laura grabbed his hand and pointed it out, drawing everyone's attention to the piece of gold jewellery that made his heart ache.

"You got married! You conveniently left that out of your life story. Are you even Derek Hale anymore?" Laura laughed.

"Actually no" Derek mumbled, "I'm not; it's Hale–Stilinksi now."

Laura spluttered "You married the Sheriff! Isn't he a bit old for you, Der?"

Derek glared at her, making it obvious he thought she was an idiot before letting out a long-suffering sigh, "No Laura, I married his son."


End file.
